


Freshers

by Pymparticles



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Asexual Relationship, College AU, F/M, Fluff, Slow Burn, the slow burn ace johnroxy fic i need in my life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 21:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14028861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pymparticles/pseuds/Pymparticles
Summary: It's moving day, and the new batch of students have arrived for their first year at University.Chapter 1 of a fluffy slow burn ace johnroxy fic I've been planning to write for far too long.





	Freshers

Moving day!

The day was finally here. The last step of your old life, the first step of your new one. That first sweet taste of independence away from home, the first day of University!

John had been eagerly awaiting this day ever since he’d finished high school at the other end of summer. This was his time to finally act independently, away from any and all constraints, his chance to be his own person! Now, don’t misunderstand, John and his Dad had a great relationship, the pair of them had lived together with just each other for company throughout all of John’s life, but the idea of finally moving away and shaping his own future full of new experiences, new friends, and new places? Now that was too tempting to pass up on.

He had arrived at his dorm bright and early that morning, with more than his fair share of belongings in tow. His Dad had driven the pair of them over 3 hours to get here with a car so full of stuff you could barely see out the back window; if John was going to be living in these dorms for the next year, you can be damn sure he was going to make that place home. Boxes, trunks and cases filled the car, each filled with an array of clothes, memorabilia, posters, and general knick-knacks that John planned on using to make his dorm room truly his.

The two of them had hoped to beat the hordes of students also arriving to begin their education/4 year party that same day, but the 3 hour drive had taken its toll, and the entire grounds were sprawling with students by the time they got here. The dorms were off campus, a short drive away from the main University, leaving close to a hundred dormitory blocks scattered around a separate campus, almost forming something of a uniquely student city.

It wasn’t long after collecting his keys to his new room and starting to unload the car that John and his Dad were approached by one of the upperclassmen acting as part of the “Arrival Squad”. These older students were on hand to show the freshmen to their new rooms, answer any questions they or the parents might have, and just generally act as a good introduction to University life. John had been shown to his room by a peppy squad member who introduced herself as Aranea, although the nametag she sported kind of gave that away. She showed John to the dorm he would be staying in, then subsequently to the room he now called his own. Aranea quickly laid the info down on John as she lead the pair to John’s new home.

“Ok, you’ll probably notice that each dorm is a couple of floors high, you’ll be sharing with everyone across all 3 floors. All of our dorms are mixed in terms of gender, so you’ll be meeting plenty of other people during your time here. ” She explained, weaving her way through the crowd, careful not to lose track of John and his Dad.

Each time John tried to interject with a question about how much further they had to walk, Aranea carried on with her usual script she’d probably delivered at least 50 times today already.

“So there’s 19 other lucky lucky people you’ll be sharing a dorm with! Although I’m sure you figured out the math yourself, what was it you said you were studying again”?

“Uh, I didn’t, but it’s computer science”! John replied.

“Ooooh, very nice, I know a few people doing that course, I’m studying poetry myself but I’ll leave all that technical stuff up to you, I reckon doing that course will make you VERY popular with your flatmates when all their computers break”! She giggled as the three of them entered John’s dorm, Dormitory B1.

“Heh, yeah I hope so at least”. John responded again, forcing a chuckle as if he hadn’t heard that exact same joke at least a hundred times back home from the rest of his extended family.

“Right, well I’ll leave the two of you to unpack and get set up, you’ll find some welcome info and such in your room, but if you need anything, ANYTHING at all then myself and the rest of the arrival squad will be here all day to answer any questions, so just come grab one of us”! she explained, almost instantly jogging off to help the next needy student.

It didn’t actually take John too long to move his stuff from the car to his room, although he had a feeling it’d take a lot longer to actually unpack the boxes and set up properly. After his stuff had been moved in, it was time for his Dad to leave John to his own devices, and meet the rest of his new flatmates. He’d tried to see John off with a manly handshake and some fatherly words of advice, but it was no surprise when the pair of them couldn’t resist a hug before his Dad headed back to take the 3 hour journey back home.

And there he was. His own independent man. John took a seat perched on the edge of the bed he was going to call his own for the next year and took a look round his room. It was pretty basic, but not too shabby; he reckoned it’d look a hell of a lot better once he had chance to personalize it though. 

The excitement he’d had for the past couple of months leading up to today was still present, albeit now tinged with a touch of anxiety. This was it, huh? This was home for the next year. An unfamiliar room in an unfamiliar town, living with unfamiliar people. A brief pang of isolation flashed over John as he sat there, surrounded by the boxes that contained his life, but he stood to his feet before he could dwell on it too much.

 

There were voices coming from outside his room, and if he were going to make his time here void of isolation, the quickest way to do that would be to meet the people he’d soon come to call his friends.

John headed to the kitchen on the bottom floor, his floor, and heard the voices and laughter growing as he approached and opened the door. A group of around 10 were inside, spread around the main kitchen area and dining table, with a few heads turning to face him as he stepped inside.

“Oh shit, the last one’s here, the gang’s all here now guys,” said a blonde haired kid stepping forward and extending a hand towards John as he entered the room.

“Name’s Dave, I’m on this floor too”

“Uh, John, nice to meet you” he replied, taking Dave’s hand and offering what he hoped was a suitable handshake.

“I just got here and heard all these voices from the kitchen and figured I’d see what all the rabble was about, looks like you guys are pretty settled in here already huh?” quipped John, taking note of the already growing pile of empty bottles on the kitchen table.

“Nah, been here about an hour myself, same as the rest of these guys. We just figured why beat around the bush, the best way to get to know each other is to lose all our faculties as soon as possible and end up getting deep with strangers, right?” answered Dave.

“Cheers man, I’ll drink to THAT” said the student by the fridge, soon introducing himself as Karkat, drawing a round of cheers from the group sat round the table.

He pulled another bottle out of the fridge and handed it over to John before he had chance to refuse.

“Aha, well I haven’t even reaaaaally had a chance to unpack yet, I should probably see to that first before joining you gu-“

“BOOOOOOOO, c’mon John, you honestly think any of US have unpacked yet?” shouted a girl at the table.

“Come take a seat with us, it’s fresher’s week! You’ve got all damn year to unpack so what difference is one night gonna make?” She added, pulling up a seat to the side of her and offering it to him.

John shuffled across the floor, forcing a nervous laugh as he took the seat.

“Well I’m Vriska, and it is a PLEASURE to meet you” she said in an exaggerated fashion over the brim of her wine glass, before clinking it with John’s bottle, signaling for them both to drink.

John laughed to himself. He’d obviously heard the stories about college being a party, but getting started with a set of random strangers after only being here for 30 minutes? There were worse ways to spend an afternoon, he supposed.

 

The time flew by and so did the drinks. Everyone had introduced themselves to him, but the more he drunk, the less he remembered everyone’s names. There was definitely a Rose, he got that one. Dave and Karkat he remembered from earlier, that was sorted. Vriska was the one at the table, but what was the name of the girl next to her?.. Terezi? That was probably it, thought John, his inner monologue already becoming a bit fuzzy from the drinks.

Students across all 3 floors kept coming and going, and eventually the party had made its way to the top floor kitchen, where John had given up on trying to learn names for the night.

“See the trick is to like… hold your breath as you knock it down. Makes it a fuck ton easier when you don’t even know what you’re drinking. Could be anything at all. Fuckin’ windex for all I know.” Slurred Dave, knocking back another shot, coughing and spluttering as he slammed the glass down.

If he could have seen them, John would have bet real money on Dave’s eyes watering at that point.

Dave poured John the same shot as he’d just finished, spilling most of the contents onto the kitchen table.

“Ohhh no, I’m honestly good man. I’ve had like… a LOT already, I’m having a good time and I really don’t want to ruin anything right now, I’m honestly good right now” protested John, putting down another empty bottle onto the table. How many was that now? More than he was used to, that’s for sure.

He didn’t have to protest too much, as the shot was quickly snatched up by Terezi on the opposite side of the table, who downed it without even so much as flinching. She licked her lips clear after finishing the drink and stared at the two boys left at the table.

“Nerd”, she giggled, wandering off to join the rest of the party in the kitchen and out in the hallway.

John looked to his left and saw Dave sat with his head in his hands after that last shot. He decided it was entirely ambiguous to whom Terezi was talking.

What had started out as introductory drinks soon after he’d arrived had turned into a full on party for the entire dorm; all 20 of the students. Music was coming from the hallway, but it was almost entirely drowned out by his new friends’ laughter outside too.

 

He checked the time on his phone and saw it was nearing midnight. MIDNIGHT! How had that crept up so quickly?! Ok, it was time to turn in now for sure. He’d had a great time but it was better to end before getting regrettably drunk on his first night here. There’d be plenty more time to party, probably every night if this was the immediate standard set. 

John slipped out of the kitchen and down the stairs, soon reaching the bottom floor. He hadn’t had chance to meet everyone in his dorm yet, but again, there’d be plenty of time for that later. John was honestly just glad that everyone he’d met so far seemed so… nice? It was a melting pot of completely differently personality types. So far there wasn’t anyone he really would have clicked with back home but by being put into the same environment, everyone just seemed to get along?

His interactions with everyone so far had soothed the brief pang of anxiety he’d had earlier, but that feeling was soon replaced with one of regret as he stepped into his room.

Boxes. Everywhere. And not a single thing unpacked.

John groaned to himself has he flicked the light on to reveal his shame. He took his glasses of and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he sat down on his bed, the same spot he’d sat in nearly 12 hours prior.

Ok, maybe he didn’t need to unpack everything now, maybe just a blanket or something to sleep under, the rest could wait until the morning, perhaps?

His thoughts were soon interrupted as he heard a fumbling at the door, and sporadic footsteps enter his room.

 

“Wait is this uh.. No this isn’t mine. Not my room. Oops? Which room is this..?” came a voice from by the door.

John grabbed his glasses from the desk and turned around to see who was intruding at the door.

“Uhh, nope, this is definitely my room!” he chuckled as he stood to his feet and made his way towards the door.

Stood in the archway was a girl he hadn’t been introduced to yet. Or had he? No, he’d remember the face for sure. Maybe not names, but he could picture everyone he’d been introduced to so far this evening.

“Ohhhh god” replied the mystery girl, clutching her head in her hands. “I am sooo sorry, I genuinely thought that this was… my room, I’m still finding my way around here” she said, muffled through the palms of her hands. She soon moved them away to reveal a pair of flushed cheeks, which seemed to be pretty standard procedure given how much pretty much everyone in the dorm had been drinking.

“It’s honestly not a problem!” chuckled John, amused at the awkwardness of the situation. “These dorms are a pain to get round, I’m sure it’ll happen to more than a few people tonight”, he lied.

“Uh, I’m John by the way, I don’t think we met earlier at the party?” he asked, extending a hand like everyone else had done today.

“I’m Roxy!” quipped the girl now known as… Roxy, stepping forward and gripping John into a hug. That was a surprise, but far from an unwelcome one.

“Oh wait, are you a hugger? I should have asked, I know some people aren’t and I really don’t want to get my ear chewed off again today, I’m so sorry” she apologized, quickly breaking off the embrace.

“Oh, it’s fine, no it’s totally fine!” responded a grinning John. “No I’m definitely all for the hugs! All about those hugs. Gotta get them hugs, you know?” he rambled, realizing only now just how drunk he was.

“Oh that’s definitely good, that makes this whole thing a LOT less awkward” she giggled.

“So this is your room then?” she said, gesturing wildly at the misplaced boxes and suitcases littering the floor. “It looks uhhhh…. Homely?”

“Yeah you kinda caught me at a bad time to be honest. I decided I’d do the true college experience and get really really drunk on my first night away from home before unpacking, you know?” said John, feigning sarcasm.

“Same!” cheered Roxy, holding up a non-existent drink, as if to make a toast to irresponsibility. 

The music upstairs faded, and was replaced with something completely different. A sort of bluesy, rock song that John had never heard before in his life. 

Roxy let out an exaggerated gasp as she heard the song, and gestured out of John’s room to the stairs.

“Ok, so they’re finally playing the song I told them to play, and this is kind of my song?” she said, grinning from ear to ear.

“So I’m gonna head upstairs now and dance to this a bit more… and you should totally join me.”

“Ahhh I‘d love to, but I was probably gonna turn it in for tonight, you know? I’ve been travelling for HOURS today and drinking since god knows when, I’m honestly beyond exhausted right now. I’d probably be a bit of a buzzkill to be honest with you…” he responded, wincing as he gave his excuse.

It had been a while since John had danced with anyone, never mind a complete stranger. He’d probably consider it if he wasn’t completely and utterly exhausted, so at least there was some truth to his excuse.

“Aww suit yourself then, John”, Roxy moaned, giving an exaggerated pout as he turned down her offer. “I’m going to head back upstairs now before my song finishes, so I will see youuuuu tomorrow!”

And with that, she left John with a wink, and pivoted round to scurry back upstairs to join the party.

“Yep, see you soon Rose!” he shouted as she turned the corner.

“Roxy!” came a distant shout. “Rose is the other one!”

“Yep… I knew that”, he lied under his breath.

 

John sat himself back down on his bed, right in the sport that was becoming pretty familiar to him by this point. God, he didn’t even have the energy to look for a blanket.

Whatever, it was a pretty warm night, not like he needed one. He put his head down on the bare pillow, and was soon too comfy to even get up and turn the light off.

Again, whatever, that could wait until morning. 

He soon drifted off to sleep, only slightly able to hear the music thumping away upstairs. That faded out soon after too, as everyone headed off to sleep themselves after what had proven to be a pretty damn hectic day.

The rest of John’s sleep that night was relatively uneventful, no more cute girls showing up announced at his door, as much as he probably would have liked that.

Looks like Roxy found her room this time.

**Author's Note:**

> BOOM there you have it. The first chapter of the stupidly self indulgent johnroxy college AU fic I've been meaning to write for years. 
> 
> Looks like John's started off his time at college in a pretty interesting way, as I'm sure most of us do. With lots and lots of alcohol. I'm not going to play around with the trope of Roxy drinking too much, since it bugs me when her character is reduced to JUST that, but this seemed like a good way to introduce her. There'll probably be a fair bit more alcohol throughout since this is a college AU after all.
> 
> I should probably preface this by saying anyone expecting smut in this fic is probably in the wrong place since this is being written with asexuality in mind. Not giving away the details because spoilers but yeah, just expect the slowest of slow burn, fluff, relationship talk, and talking. Lots and lots of talking.
> 
> Stupidly self indulgent and based in part off a lot of my own experiences.
> 
> Oh, and the song Roxy was listening to at the end was I'm Shakin' by Jack White. Each chapter is being written with a song in mind, to have a full playlist by the end of the fic. So here ya go! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkcGuZHPbKk


End file.
